Sprinkler



Dec. 24, 1935. A. J. LOEPSINGER 2,025,063

SPRINKLER Filed April 14, 1951 I Adz/07 269 V Patented Dec. 24, 1935 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

SPRINKLER Albert J. Loepsinger, Providence, R. 1., assignor to General Fire Extinguisher Company, Providence, R. I., a corporation of Delaware.

Application April 14, 1931, Serial No. 529,904

4 Claims. (01. 169-37) This invention relates to improvements in sprinklers. More especially it has to do with a sprinkler capable of distributing its discharge over a substantially rectangular area. I

5 Sprinklers now in common use distribute their discharge over a circular area. When installing a sprinkler system employing such sprinklers the latter must be so located with respect to one another that their combined discharge covers all the area to be protected. This requirement, coupled with the circular area serv d by each sprinkler results in a large overlapp of area which is not only unnecessary but is also undesirable for it leads to excessive discharge and need- 15 less water damage.

It is anobglect of this invention to provide a a sprinkler which will enable the aforesaid overlapping to'be reduced to a necessary minimum and which will permit a less quantity of water to 20 be discharged from each sprinkler albeit the intensity of precipitation is no less than is now deemed suitable. Clearly it the proposed sprinkler actually discharges a smaller quantity of water it must follow that the water damage is 5 correspondingly reduced. v The best mode in which I have contemplated applying the principles of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing but it is intended that the patentshall cover by suitable Y 30 expression in the appended claims whatever features of patentable novelty exist in the invention disclosed. v In the drawing, 7 Figure 1 represents the plan view of anarea to 35 be protected, with the unit area served by each building having side walls a and band an end wall 0. Under the present practice of installing sprinkler systems heads would be located .atthe 60 various points marked it and the area of distrlbu-' 1 tion served by each such head is represented by the dot-dash circles e. It is to be noted that the heads areso located that no space is left unreached by the sprinkler discharge. This re '65 sults in a very considerable portion of each cirin area actually served by each head the entire the sprinklers under the improved arrangement prising the tongues 71..

portion and each marginal flange lies in a sin- -each such flange is in a single plane, the edge cular area being doubly protected,'as it were, for there is of necessity a large overlappin of these circular areas. As a consequence it several sprinklers are opened upon the occurrence of a fire there is bound to be an unwarranted water 5 damage due to this overlapping alone.

The present invention enables the shape of area served by each sprinkler to be changed from the customary circular shape e to one which is substantially rectangular. In the particular example disclosed for purposes of illustration this area is shown as an approximate square I. The diagonal of the latter is substantially equal to the diameter of the circle previously. covered, there being" a small but ample overlapping of the edges of these square areas to avoid any unreached spaces. Since the area of each square served by ahead is about seventy per cent of the area of the corresponding circle previously covered, it is possible, with seventy per cent of the quantity of water heretofore discharged from each head, to sprinkle the square area with the same intensity of precipitation as before. In other words, due to the almost complete-elimination of overlapping areas and the great reduction area can be just as effectively sprinkled as heretofore but with a saving of atleast thirty per cent of the quantity of water. Consequently, when of distribution open for discharge there is necessarily a'marked saving in water damage.

' In Figures 2, 3, and 4 is illustrated a sprinkler 0 having a deflector h capable of producing the desired square area of coverage. In plan view (Figure 2 the configuration of this deflector is substantially that of a square, its sides being at right an'glesto one another, with the tongues h on each-side in a straight line.

, Viewed from the side (Figure 4) the center portion of the deflector is seen to be flat and to merge into downward curving side portions com- These side or marginal portions extend completely around the flat plate gle plane'which is symmetrically disposed in angular relation to the fiat plate portion. These marginal flanges impart direction to the discharge of the water received upon it, and since of the sprinkled area corresponding to the marginal flange will be substantially a straight line edge. At each corner there is a tongue with a portion on one side thereof and another portion on the other side thereof. 'By asuitable proportioning oi the deflector, comparable with the decrease in quantity of water discharged, the area served by each head will be approximately as indicated by the heavy dotted lines I of Figure 1, to wit, substantially square. It the area to be covered by a sprinkler is oblong, then the deflector should be made rectangular with its longer sides proportional to the longer axis of the oblong area to be served and with the shorter side of the deflector proportional to the shorter sides of said area.

Iclaim:

1. A sprinkler comprising a body having adis charge opening; an arm extending from said body, constructed and arranged to support adeflector in alignment with said opening; and said dej-,

flector having a rectangular plate portion extending at right angles to the axis of flow through said opening and having marginal portions arranged at an abrupt angle to said plate portion and forming acircumscribing edge on said deflector, each marginal portion beinglsymmetrically disposed in angular relation to said deflector and'construc'ted and arranged to impart direction to the discharge from said opening.

2. A sprinkler having an opening for discharge therethrough and a deflector mounted opposite said opening having a rectangular flat portion arranged at right angles to the axis-oi flow through said opening and having marginal portions circumscribing the edge or the rectangular portion, with each marginal portion being symmetrically disposed in angular relation to the plate portion and constructed and arranged to impart direction to the discharge'irom said opening.

3. A sprinkler comprising a deflector having a g flat rectangular plate portion and abruptly curving side portions at each edge 0! the rectangular portion each side portion being symmetrically disposed in angular relation thereto and forming a circumscribing edge on said deflector ar-jo ing whereby part of the flow is deflected at an acute angle to said axis and partis deflected approximately perpendicularlyto said axis," and side portions at each edge oi said rectangular portion with each side portion symmetrically disposed in angular relation to the flat plate porfl tion and together forming a circumscribing edge therearound constructed and arranged to deflect the last said part 01' the flow at an abrupt angle to the original axis 0! flow; the combined eiiect of said plate and side portions being a pyramidal distribution over a substantially rectangular area.

' All-BERT J. IDEPSINGER. 

